Tragedy struck in California as an avalanche claimed the lives of eight backcountry skiers, leaving one still unaccounted for. The incident occurred during a skiing expedition in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

A total of 15 skiers, part of a three-day excursion organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides, embarked on their journey to the remote wilderness near Frog Lake, close to Lake Tahoe.

The group encountered disaster on Tuesday when an avalanche trapped them, forcing six skiers to seek shelter for several hours amid worsening blizzard conditions.

Before rescue teams could reach them, the six survivors managed to find three of their fellow skiers deceased. Authorities later discovered five more bodies, while one individual remains missing and is presumed dead as of Wednesday.

The identities of the victims are currently withheld while authorities notify their families. However, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo disclosed that one of those killed was married to a member of a search and rescue team.

The six survivors, comprising one guide and five clients, were found in close proximity to each other, providing a small solace amidst the tragedy.

The remains of the deceased were also found close together. Officials have not yet determined their cause of death.

Authorities have since told the families the mission has moved from rescue to recovery, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said.

Members of a rescue team in Soda Springs, California on Tuesday 

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon, during a press conference Wednesday, confirmed that nine skiers are presumed dead after the avalanche

Snow piles up along a street on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 in Truckee, California

The avalanche hit about 11.30am PST on Tuesday near Perry Peak in the Castle Peak area of Truckee.

Officials revealed that one of the skiers saw the avalanche and yelled ‘avalanche,’ before the massive amount of snow toppled the group.

Chris Feutrier, supervisor of the Tahoe National Forest, said the avalanche that buried the skiers was the length of a football field.

Two different search and rescue teams, roughly 50 people, were deployed from the north and south side of the mountain to help the missing skiers.

As they waited for help to arrive, the six survivors used equipment to shelter themselves and were trying to stay warm. The survivors located three others who had died, Moon said. 

Crews on snow cats and skis faced ‘horrific, whiteout conditions’ during their search, including heavy snow and gale force winds that made it impossible to see. 

Rescuers made it to their location around 5.30pm and used a snowcat to get within 2 miles of the survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn’t set off another avalanche, the sheriff said. 

Of the survivors, four are men and two are women, ages 30 to 55, according to Sheriff Moon. Seven women and two men are presumed dead.

A snowmobile is parked at Alder Creek Adventure Center, one of two sites where search crews were launched to try to locate a group of missing skiers after an avalanche in a backcountry slope of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains

Tread marks from Snow Cat vehicles carrying rescue teams lead into a closed trail at Alder Creek Adventure Center after an avalanche

Two of those rescued after several hours of searching were taken to a hospital for treatment. One has since been released from the hospital, while the other stayed overnight with non-life threatening injuries.

Sheriff Moon said their search efforts has now transitioned from ‘rescue to recovery’ as crews battle dangerous weather.

‘Extreme weather conditions is an understatement,’ she said. ‘Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing, as well as our search for the remaining skier.’

Authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’ emergency beacons, Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said.

iPhone SOS was used to communicate with six survivors as crews worked to reach them. 

The Blackbird Mountain Guides tour group was on a three-day trek in the Sierra Nevada mountains as the monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast. 

The skiers were on the last day of their backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in the nearby Frog Lake Huts when the avalanche broke out.

The area near Castle Peak requires navigating rugged mountainous terrain, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He added that all food and supplies need to be carried to the huts.

The skiers spent two nights in the Frog Lake Huts, operated by the Truckee Donner Land Trust. The huts are seen in December 2025

I-80 eastbound and westbound over Donner Summit opened to all passenger vehicles with R-2 chain restrictions on Wednesday

Reaching the huts in winter takes several hours and requires backcountry skills, avalanche training and safety equipment, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust website.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement said the group, including four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.

‘Our thoughts are with the missing individuals, their families, and first responders in the field,’ Blackbird said in a statement Wednesday. The company said it is helping authorities in the search.

The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that the risk of avalanche remains high and advised against travel in the area. 

Multiple feet of snowfall and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, and more snow was predicted to fall, the center said.

Several Tahoe ski resorts had been fully or partially closed due to the weather. Resorts, which use controlled explosions and barriers to manage avalanche threats, were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry, the center said.

Officials said heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches has slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak.

The area near Donner Summit is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere and until just a few years ago was closed to the public. 

It sees an average of nearly 35 feet (10 meters) of snow a year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns the cluster of huts where the group was staying.

Highly skilled rescue ski teams departed from both Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center to rescue the six skiers trapped on Castle Peak

Crews pushed through mountainous wilderness near Lake Tahoe during a snowstorm on Tuesday to rescue six skiers who survived the avalanche but were trapped by its snow and ice

A Blackbird Mountain Guides ski guide stationed in Mt Rose, the Tahoe’s highest elevation, on Sunday revealed that there was ‘atypical layering’ in the snow pack. The guide, in a post on the company’s Facebook page, warned that there was a ‘big storm incoming’

Blackbird Mountain Guides had also warned skiers of incoming inclement weather just two days before the storm hit. 

A ski guide stationed in Mt Rose, the Tahoe’s highest elevation, made a post on the company’s Facebook  page, stating that the extended dry season impacting the area had caused faceting, a process in which snow becomes weak.

‘As we move into a large storm cycle this week, pay close attention to places where faceting has been particularly strong – avalanches could behave abnormally, and the hazard could last longer than normal,’ the guide said, urging snow sportsmen to ‘use extra caution this week.’

Local skiers have since hit back at Blackbird, claiming that the firm made a ‘bad call’ and should have never let the group up the mountain in the first place. 

Tuesday’s avalanche is the deadliest in the US since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Washington.

Ten mountain climbers and one guide were killed by an avalanche of ice and snow on Ingraham Glacier while ascending to the summit.